Lexmark X3470

Upside
The X3470's price tag -- AU$129 -- puts it in the mid-range segment, but the printer can certainly compete with premium offerings in terms of features.

For starters, it's incredibly small. At 375.92 by 314.96 by 152.4 mm (tray retracted), the X3470 is by far the most compact all-in-one printer we've seen yet.

Its regular colour and black printing functions are, on paper, similar to that of its younger siblings, the X1270 and X2470. The unit sports a maximum print resolution of 4800x1200 dpi, and can print colour or text documents at a speed of up to 17 pages per minute.

Yet the main attraction is its photo printing capabilities. These include a PictBridge port and multi-format memory card reader (for PC-less printing), as well as Lexmark photo editing software that features one-touch red-eye removal and colour fixing. Lexmark promises that the X3470 can produce a borderless 4x6-inch print in 38 seconds.

Another handy feature is the backlit LCD display, which makes the printer far easier to use.

Interestingly, the printer uses a single ink cartridge that produces both colour and black inks. This makes maintenance far simpler, as you'll only need to change one cartridge as opposed to multiple cartridges when the ink runs dry.

The "Web toolbar" function is perhaps the X3470's most interesting software feature. It enables users to print Web pages in just a few clicks, and you're able to eliminate advertisements and other unwanted elements before printing. A handy feature to say the least.

Being an "all-in-one" model, the X3470 also boasts colour scanning (flatbed) and copying features. It'll scan at a resolution of up to 600x1200 ppi, and copying is super speedy at 15 copies per minutes.

It's got a paper capacity of 100 sheets, while Lexmark's "Accu-feed" paper handling system "virtually eliminates paper jams", according to the company.

Compared to competing printer manufacturers, the X2470's LexExpress warranty with second business day exchange is very impressive.

Downside
Like most Lexmark printers, the X2470 doesn't support the Mac OS operating system.

Outlook
Attractive and feature-rich, the X3470 is a great mid-range photo printer.